Anyone that has been around project management, or just about any department in manufacturing, engineering, continuous improvement, quality, product development, etc. sooner or later have someone in authority claiming the list of projects is growing and ‘we can’t keep up with it.’ I used to panic when I would hear that because all I could think about was getting more work than I could handle, and I already had enough! Now I just think to myself… too bad, so sad. They’re likely tasks or activities being misnamed again to sound more important than they are, or the messenger/manager doesn’t know the difference between a project and a task.

I have found through my experiences from small through mega companies that more managers and above seem to abuse the terms ‘projects versus tasks’ than veteran project leaders. These definitions are from Business Dictionary.com.

Project: Planned set of interrelated tasks to be executed over a fixed period and within certain cost and other limitations.

Activity: Project management: Smallest unit of work having four characteristics: (1) definite duration, (2) logic relationships with other activities in the project, (3) resource consumption, and (4) an associated cost. Often used as an alternative term for task.

So, now that you have an independent definition of a project versus a task/activity, how many projects and tasks do you actually have?

I was brought into a company to launch a new biological product a few years ago with a totally new complex process that was in complete disarray. When my team and I finally were able to get our hands around the open issues/tasks, we had three hundred items listed! Over one hundred were ‘A’ items. I don’t remember if we ever got back to the ‘B and C’ items at all. The point is we knew what tasks were and prioritized them as they were found to identify what was needed for the launch, and what could wait.

At the end of the day, there was one project we needed to close. We had many tasks and sub-tasks to deal with before we could get a reliable timeline that was stable and achievable to release the new products.

Also, just because a list of tasks are generated, doesn’t mean the technology or knowhow to resolve each issue and complete the tasks is always obvious and available. Staying focused on the scope of the project is critical and if secondary projects down the road create improvements or line additions, great. Finish one project at a time on time without scope creep, and everyone is happier!

Source: Google Chrome

Companies that boast about how many projects their companies have open might want to re-think their strategy. Open projects do not make money. They consume resources and money. Only closed projects have a chance for a return on investment. Maybe they should be looking at how many closed projects their company completes each year?

So, my advice to other full or part-time project leaders and team contributors is to be as crystal clear as possible about what everyone is calling a task, milestone, dependent or independent task, and a project. In other words, calibrate your terms in writing before you start trying to run projects and follow-up to see each team is not embellishing with new terminology for whatever reason. It just won’t be helpful, consistent in reviewing the team’s progress or demonstrate cohesiveness with the group/business.

Source: Google Chrome CLICK TO ENLARGE

]]>http://danpastrick.com/you-have-how-many-new-projects-for-me/feed/0Where is the Best Country to Develop New Medical Devices?http://danpastrick.com/where-is-the-best-country-to-develop-new-medical-devices/
http://danpastrick.com/where-is-the-best-country-to-develop-new-medical-devices/#respondTue, 12 Sep 2017 11:30:57 +0000http://danpastrick.com/?p=1893Years ago if a new medical device was coming out of the product development pipeline and it was likely to not receive a 510(k) ‘approval,’ companies went outside the United States to develop and market their products. That lasted for a while, and then came ISO (International Standards Organization) to protect the European population and make the medical device companies improve their designs, and more importantly the safety of their devices.

Source: Google Chrome

Hence, many foreign countries benefited from the outsourcing by U.S. companies as the local manufacturers learned how to fabricate products they may not have had access to before.

As more and more companies are developing technically challenging products today, the need for new product development releases, without skipping any of the multitudes of requirements and testing necessary for release of the new device, has been growing. So where does a company go today for development and manufacturing support of their new offering?

According to a new article in Medical Design and Outsourcing in June of this year, it looks like Europe and China are two geographical areas to reconsider from the list. This was one takeaway by some of the participants. With both of these areas adding regulations, the results could easily be increased costs and delays in time to market devices. Their current position seems to be to stay here in the U.S. and work directly with the FDA to bring their products to market sooner when clinical studies were involved. New requirements like proving a devices ‘value’ are also currently required by four countries in Europe. The FDA has no similar requirement for any U.S. devices according to the article.

If you would like to read the full article and learn more about the Medtech Conference held in Minneapolis, MN, click on this link.

You have been with one or more companies, experienced bad through great supervisors in the past, and think you have the whole group management thing down pat.

What will your next step be?

What do your peers think of your management style? What do the support groups you deal with around the company think about your delegation style/effectiveness for the projects and activities you have been working on with them? What does the upper management think of you? Do they even know who you are? Are you prepared and ready to work longer hours on short notice if asked? Can you effectively review your former peers for the annual review when the time comes?

These are not all of the questions you should be considering, but they will sure help you start your vetting process to pursue a management position, or stay on the technical track if you are on the fence about this career move.

Weeks or months before you ever put yourself in this position, you could have been going through the list of questions and evaluated yourself as to your readiness.

When will a position open up at your current company? What will you do if it does not open up in six to nine months? If one does open up and you feel you are qualified but don’t get that opportunity, are you going to stay put, or try another company? What in your background will convince the hiring manager and human resources you are ready to manage people? People talk back and complain, projects and computers not so much.

If you had the time to reach out confidentially to someone and discuss your situation, or even hire a Career Coach to evaluate and train you to be prepared and present yourself as a great candidate, some of these questions are easy to answer. Opportunity does not always knock twice. If you want to be in supervision, make it be known and prepare to train and learn whatever skills you need to make the best presentation during the supervisor interview you can!

Source: Google Chrome

In case you are new to supervising employees and feel a Career Coach may be of value for you to eliminate some of the trial and error decisions we all go through, you can contact me through a Free Coaching Session format, and then determine if a more developed program just for you may be helpful. No strings attached, and a full money back guarantee for any paid coaching program you may choose if you are not satisfied after the first month of coaching.

]]>http://danpastrick.com/you-want-to-be-a-supervisor/feed/0How Much Time Do Cell Phones Steal from Work?http://danpastrick.com/how-much-time-do-cell-phones-steal-from-work/
http://danpastrick.com/how-much-time-do-cell-phones-steal-from-work/#respondThu, 17 Aug 2017 15:44:53 +0000http://danpastrick.com/?p=1868I’m not talking about the mom and pop companies that are doing five things at once, struggling to pay the bills while they are the customer service rep too until the business grows large enough to hire another employee.

I am speaking about the mid to large size companies with multiple employees, and everyone is packing their cell phone. How many times a day do you think they stop working to check a post, email, instant message, grab a personal call, etc.? Do they only use their personal phone during breaks or lunchtime? What have you observed at your workplace? Are you one of the time stealers from your employer too?

Whether you are hourly or salary, you are at work to do a job. Playing with your phone for whatever reason that is not directly work related is taking time away from your tasks, projects, and duties you are being compensated for completing. Would you like to be the owner and see how many of your employees were losing effective work time each day, and you were paying them to do it unless you change something to stop the craziness? Probably not.

Here is another viewpoint by Jon Hyman with his article and recommendations to handle the situation. Enjoy!

]]>http://danpastrick.com/how-much-time-do-cell-phones-steal-from-work/feed/0Does Going to the Same Old Job Everyday Make You Happy or Woozy?http://danpastrick.com/does-going-to-the-same-old-job-everyday-make-you-happy-or-woozy/
http://danpastrick.com/does-going-to-the-same-old-job-everyday-make-you-happy-or-woozy/#respondTue, 01 Aug 2017 11:30:10 +0000http://danpastrick.com/?p=1838Tomorrow is Monday, and you’re going back to work. Do you feel like you can’t wait, or does it feel like the last place on earth you want to spend another five days of your life? Do you jump at the chance to accept challenges from your supervisor, or do you run and hide because you feel buried and overworked day in and day out?

Source: Google Chrome

You remember back to the time when you first hired into the company, and there were all kinds of enthusiasm and energy to spare to get your work done. You did high-quality work, didn’t mind staying over if it was needed, and let your supervisor know when you were getting low on something to do so you would always have work waiting.

Fast forward to today, and you dodge your supervisor whenever possible, rarely inform him or her you are low on work, don’t like to volunteer for new assignments, and you have settled to a medium plus quality of work output. Why the change?

Like most things change is inevitable in nearly every size of company. Positive change is always easy to accept, but other changes can add stress, change your disposition, and even push you to the brink of leaving the company.

How can this happen when everything seemed so good just a few months ago?

Source: Google Chrome

Changes in leadership can have a widespread rippling throughout the company if it is at a Director or VP level, and especially with a new President. If it is a department head or your direct supervisor you will likely be impacted to some degree very soon after the person is on board. A continuous drop in sales which creates cash flow issues will likely impact the entire operations until it has been remedied.

Change isn’t something employees can control, but they need to find an acceptable way to deal with change if they wish to stay at the same company. Everyone has a different tolerance for change. Personal or family situations come into play for ‘what if’ scenarios if the situation looks like it can’t be tolerated or diffused anytime soon. Most people try to resolve these types of issues themselves or with a confidant. Seeking a professional in your area of work that could advise you of alternatives and help you prepare for a jump to another organization is also an alternative. It is always best to look ahead and know what options you have at your disposal before the situation overwhelms you and emotions overtake objectivity, which typically ends up in less than optimum decision making in the long-term plan.

Dan Pastrick & Associates is pleased to announce the addition of a new Coaching Service, along with the Consulting Service it currently offers. Career coaching services from Dan focus towards Medical Device Engineers in Manufacturing, Product Development, Operations, or Quality roles. Career coaching services from J. Salimbene Enterprise, led by Jill, are directed at Sales professionals working in the medical device space.

]]>http://danpastrick.com/does-going-to-the-same-old-job-everyday-make-you-happy-or-woozy/feed/0How Do You Know When to Fire Someone Before They Poison the Well?http://danpastrick.com/how-do-you-know-when-to-fire-someone-before-they-poison-the-well/
http://danpastrick.com/how-do-you-know-when-to-fire-someone-before-they-poison-the-well/#respondTue, 18 Jul 2017 11:30:27 +0000http://danpastrick.com/?p=1818Early in your career, you started out with a technical background/position, ‘fought’ your way through the ranks until you were finally given an opportunity to supervise someone, and train them to be more valuable to the company. You may have been given other personnel to train ranging from technician levels through Principal Engineer, but now you are a first-year Supervisor or Manager, and you feel the need to let one of your direct reports go.

Here are some things to consider before you take any further action with the employee in question:

1) Discuss your decision thoroughly with your supervisor to see if he/she agrees with your decision. This type of employee action can have legal repercussions for the company you may not be considering.

2) Do you have documentation of what the employee is doing ‘wrong?’ You should have given them verbal and written reviews covering their lack of productivity or creating business issues to document the problem(s). This process eliminates any surprise to the employee if you move forward, and shows a documented trail of written communication with the employee should this process move outside the business to a judge.

Source: Google Chrome

3) How have you tried to counsel the employee to bring their level of work up to the expected standards for the group/company? Do you have documentation for this activity as well? He says versus she says will not typically work with Human Resources (HR) or in court (if push comes to shove).

4) Will this employee say in front of HR and your supervisor they have not been singled out by you for reasons X, Y, or Z? In other words, are you being fair and reasonable with this employee to correct their issue(s) in the same manner you would with any other direct report?

5) Did you speak to any other supervisors in your company where this employee may be a better fit and potentially excel?

Source: Google Chrome

If you have successfully answered all the items noted above and received a go ahead from your supervisor, then the only item left is when to take action for termination of employment.

If the employee is not disruptive to the business but is just struggling along, you might want to start looking for their replacement first, and then onboard them right after the termination process. This option buys you time for an adequate employee replacement search if the work they are producing is helping your department.

If they can’t produce quality work no matter how much time you (or others) work with them, then letting them go now is probably best. Just be ready to hand out or absorb the work they were doing until a trained replacement is on board.

If they are doing adequate quality work or better, but they have become a distraction to the company (i.e. killing moral at every opportunity, bad mouthing you or the company, poisoning the well, etc.), then I would recommend immediate termination when HR can help supervise the process with you.

Source: Google Chrome

When you keep focused on the level and quality of work they are producing (per a prior approved job description you have in place that others are following), then it takes the emotion out of the equation and lets the business needs be properly accessed.

Should you have any comments or would like to leave me a message about some of your own experiences discharging employees, feel free to contact me through the Contact Form link, or on the right side panel of this blog.

In case you are new to supervising employees and feel a Career Coach may be of value for you to eliminate some of the trial and error decisions we all go through, you can contact me through a Free Coaching Session format, and then determine if a more developed program just for you may be helpful. No strings attached, and a full money back guarantee for any paid coaching program you may choose if you are not satisfied after the first month of coaching.

]]>http://danpastrick.com/how-do-you-know-when-to-fire-someone-before-they-poison-the-well/feed/0ABC’s After Landing Your First Engineering Jobhttp://danpastrick.com/abcs-after-landing-your-first-engineering-job/
http://danpastrick.com/abcs-after-landing-your-first-engineering-job/#respondThu, 06 Jul 2017 01:08:40 +0000http://danpastrick.com/?p=1772Congratulations! You finished your engineering program and are finally making a self-sustaining income with your new position. Do you shut off all of your networking connections, kill the electronic websites like LinkedIn, Monster, Career Builders, etc., absolutely not!

First-time professional jobs have risks associated with them just like you will experience at higher level positions in the future. Possibly more since you have no prior experience ‘under fire’ for any length of time with a previous employer in a similar situation.

You need to know that the job is a good fit for you, and the company will be evaluating if you are a good fit for them. Though many companies have abandoned an ‘official’ 90-day probation period for various reasons, the ‘implied 90-day ‘evaluation’ is alive and well and harder to litigate, which is why it is no longer in writing. Supervisors and senior level executives don’t want to pay an employee that may be marginal for any length of time, so be ready to get tested sooner than later.

What else could happen in the first 3-6 months? A companywide restructuring due to unforeseen economic conditions may create significant layoffs. Or the supervisor who hired you is transferred to another position, and now there is immediate tension with you and your new supervisor. Maybe the group dynamics are bad, and you don’t feel like you will get a fair shake with your peers. Sales have slumped for far too long and layoffs are imminent, your company is acquired, and restructuring begins from the duplication of jobs. And so it continues, who stays and who goes?

None of the above situations was due to your actual performance perception, or lack thereof. That is why you need a professional presence with the right websites and continue to update your career in case something out of your control happens. There is also the real consideration you can’t grow at the rate you want to with your present company, so you need to become visible by the companies that are hiring. Growing your contacts and networking for many months could help you find the next opportunity you are looking for sooner than later.

Also, once you are working who will you turn to for confidential guidance and coaching to assist you grow your career? If you reveal your ‘weaknesses or needs’ to your supervisor, will they help you overcome them or use them against you? Supervisors are expected to guide your training function, but as I have learned throughout my career, you are the only person that can be in charge and seek the help you need from various resources. Supervisors come in various types, but only a small percentage take the time to help you grow and make a written plan to get you there. The obligatory meeting once a year during the review cycle rarely brings up the topics you previously discussed to move you forward. That annual meeting is neither a plan nor a career guide you can count on for your first or future promotions.

This is the basis of why I have added my formal Coaching Business to Dan Pastrick & Associates. Our efforts are directed at ‘Coaching for Results’ programs with you in mind. I have partnered with J Salimbene Enterprise which allows Jill to cover Medical Device sales coaching needs, while I work with engineers primarily in the Medical Device space. We both have extensive hands-on experience from junior through senior level positions, which helped us create three and six-month programs with personal coaching sessions by phone three times a month. If you are interested in learning more, click this link and complete the online form to receive a free coaching session. Type in ‘Promo Code 62217’ after your name with an email address and as much information on the form you can complete for a more effective free session. Hoping to hear from you soon!

Ms. Salimbene has spent her career in the Medical Device Segment. Her comprehensive expertise in Sales, Management, and Marketing ranges from start-ups through Fortune 500 companies. Her collaborative leadership style and genuine passion for success have gained her a leadership award from Johnson & Johnson, and top sales and marketing awards from other companies where she has worked. For more information, please visit her LinkedIn Profile.

It is funny how salaries for our sale reps including headcount have plunged and the overall sales for the Manufacturers continue to grow. I personally have never seen or heard of so many people out of work, young & old in this industry. I challenge you to take more than a few minutes at some point to look at LinkedIn see person after person seeking employment due to layoffs in the device products segment.

CHANGE

You may be familiar with new sales model changes today. Sales professionals will focus on promoting the clinical and economic benefits of their solutions working across multiple disciplines within the hospital. They will need to be able to speak to clinicians about the efficacy and ergonomics in surgery, contracts with procurement, and the broader organizational relationship with the C-Suite. This change is very active in some hospitals and slowly moving in that direction for others. The sales representative who develops these strategic skills will be very valuable and continue to earn good compensation.

Comprehending the product, having great communication skills, and strategically managing your territories has morphed into new demands constantly facing you, the sales representative. The pressure, of course, correcting your schedule and priorities requires selling to every touch point required in that hospital to reap the success and financial reward, loyalty, integrity, relationship building to a much larger and diverse group of people, and of course being completely fluent in Medical Economics.

You ask, what is Jill really trying to say? The way you put the cherry pie together (with cherries) may be completely different than the way your friend puts his/hers cherry pie together. The ingredients may vary, but it is still a cherry pie.

COMMUNICATION

Communication skills remain at the top of the chart for gaining a strong hold into the account. The way in which you solicit a surgeon/physician in how and who to communicate with now has changed forever. Time to step out of your comfort zone again.

By shifting decision-making and purchasing power from surgeons to procurement, relationship-driven sales becomes much less critical in the purchasing process. What? Hospitals benefit today because most to the purchasing decisions are made with a balance of clinical and medical economic factors and presentations from you and your team. If you are a successful Manufacturer, you are motivated to provide products that are both ergo dynamic andclinically competitive.

MANUFACTURERS

Source: Google Chrome

The challenges for manufacturers include getting these sales-focused professionals to manage complex inventories accurately and efficiently as well as hiring enough people to support overbooked surgery schedules. No one wins in this scenario. Hospitals have commission-driven sales people, who are also product-line biased, in the OR with no inventory control or visibility. Manufacturers have a large quantity of highly-priced, valuable professional resources doing tasks that protect but do not increase sales, which in turn hurts both profitability and the focus of the sales team.

An inventory management system with web and mobile capability allows hospital personnel to schedule surgeries, manage usage for billing, and handle replenishment – all electronically. These procedures can be easily performed by a surgical technician, nurse, or hospital representative by facilitating an application on a mobile device or via a RFID cabinet signal. This electronic connection between hospitals and manufacturers provides visibility and a deeper understanding of consigned inventory usage, and surgeon to patient interaction. This more complex understanding facilitates a reduction in stocking levels and delivers a win for both hospitals and manufacturers. As the surgical and inventory responsibilities of the sale rep reduce, manufacturers will need fewer reps, which will reduce the cost of medical devices as well as allow sales reps to focus on what they are great at, a new way of selling.

WHAT NEXT?

The “rep-full” OR existed for two main reasons. 1. Manufacturers did not own the relationships with the decision-makers. 2. Manufacturers did not have a solid method for effectively and efficiently managing their distribution supply chain. Today these challenges are answered because hospitals are developing more comprehensive purchasing strategies and robust inventory management tools are becoming a viable alternative. The “rep-less” OR offers positive news for healthcare industry costs. In the medical device realm, when sales reps are removed from the low value or no value activities, manufacturers’ costs are significantly slashed. Reducing the cost of selling can pull hundreds of millions, if not billions, out of the medical device market and result in lower medical costs overall. As technology continues to evolve, the move from high-cost labor to advanced technology provides enhanced efficiency, accuracy, and affordability. It just makes good business sense for everyone.

]]>http://danpastrick.com/what-are-the-responsibilities-of-a-medical-device-sales-representative-today/feed/0CAREER COACHING by…http://danpastrick.com/career-coaching-by/
http://danpastrick.com/career-coaching-by/#respondSun, 04 Jun 2017 22:46:05 +0000http://danpastrick.com/?p=1549We are expanding our businesses on June 12, 2017, to provide you a new Career Coaching service for serious Professionals who want to take their career to the next level.

Is this for me? Yes. Any Professional in either Engineering, Operations, or Sales within the Medical Device Segment. What does this Coaching team do differently from all the others on the market? We will build a crystal-clear vision together, uncover hidden challenges that may be sabotaging your success, and gain clear financial goals.

Both Dan and Jill will reveal what has helped them produce high reaching results, overachieve their financial targets, and become motivated to change.

YOU WILL INVEST IN COACHING FOR RESULTS, NOT COACHING FOR AVERAGE REVIEWS

]]>http://danpastrick.com/career-coaching-by/feed/0How Are You Helping Your Supervisor Make You a Better Employee?http://danpastrick.com/how-are-you-helping-your-supervisor-make-you-a-better-employee/
http://danpastrick.com/how-are-you-helping-your-supervisor-make-you-a-better-employee/#respondTue, 23 May 2017 11:30:25 +0000http://danpastrick.com/?p=1540It’s great to say you have a job you like and you think you’re good at it. It’s more fun to go to work each day feeling good about yourself and your career than dreading each hour you are there. But does that make your work in the eyes of your supervisor average, really good, or exceptional? Are you being given opportunities to show you are an exceptional employee?

If your thoughts are you are a minimalist, but you do the minimum work well, expect minimum pay commensurate with your effort. If you do average work but hope it is perceived as fabulous, expect average pay. If you work above and beyond the average person in your group and you are completing assignments on time throughout the full review period, then expect a bit more than average!

Source: Google Chrome

Too many direct reports still believe they can slide six-nine months with average effort, and then start to do much better three or more months before the review period, so they will ‘look good’ to their supervisor. Then they seem disappointed when they don’t get a raise or a larger increase than they did. Review periods are typically twelve months long. A three-month spurt does not equal twelve months of average output… period!

For the employee that is a go-getter and wants to raise his or her game to the next level, you may need to ‘help’ your supervisor along as many of them seen a lot of average type employees and lowered their sights/expectations for them instead of adjusting them for you.

Let your supervisor know you can take on more work and still be effective at a high level. Ask for ‘special assignments’ to help separate you from the rest of your group and peers in other groups. See if you can help some of the peers in your group that may be struggling to do a better job and increases the group’s output. Look for any game-changing ideas, or at least significant improvements somewhere in your business that you could lead to help make the company better in the quality of products, perceived value to the customers, financially, or just a much-improved place to work. The more you look at your company for improvements, the better your chances become to start that move to the next level, and hopefully an appropriate raise and possible promotion to go along with it!

Source: Google Chrome

Dan Pastrick & Associates is pleased to announce the addition of a new Coaching Service, along with the Consulting Service it currently offers. Career coaching services from Dan focus towards Medical Device Engineers in Manufacturing, Product Development, Operations, or Quality roles. Career coaching services from J. Salimbene Enterprise, led by Jill, are directed at Sales professionals working in the medical device space.